Thrashed, daughter stripped naked, says retired Bengal scientist

Kolkata, April 17 (IANS) Days after a Jadavpur University professor was beaten for circulating 'defamatory' cartoons of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a retired scientist and his daughter Tuesday alleged they were assaulted and molestated. Police said they were investigating.

The duo also accused police of colluding with the assailants.

Aparesh Bhattacharya, 60, and his daughter, residents of Baruipur in South 24 Parganas - 40 km from Kolkata, alleged that on Sunday afternoon, about 30 youth from a nearby club broke into their rented apartment, thrashed them and allegedly stripped her naked.

"They broke open the door and started beating me and my father. They caught hold of us by the hair, dragged and threw us on the road. They stripped me naked and would have raped me if not our maid who took me to a distance and gave a skirt and a top to wear," said the daughter.

"At 3 p.m. when police came we were sitting on the road in a bleeding condition without any medical attention, money or security. They neither took a complaint nor they took us to a hospital," she added.

She also alleged that the police did not pay heed to her frantic telephone calls she made during the assault.

"We have a report that Bhattacharya and his daughter have been attacked but no FIR or complaint has been lodged by them," an officer of Baruipur police station said.

Asked about the incident, South 24 Parganas Superintendent of Police, Praveen Tripathi said: "The Bhattacharya's came to me and I have instructed the sub-divisional police office to look into the matter."